I've not disappeared....and OCHO 12 is out! Read about it.

This cold is dragging on so I've not been posting or visiting. Sorry about that. I did have some nice news. One of my haiga will be in the Spring Moonset, a very nice print journal and some poems are coming out in Tom Blessings next Quickzine. Thank you, Tom!

I received the latest OCHO in the mail yesterday, the print companion to Mipo digital, published by Didi Menendez and guest edited by Grace Cavelieri. Besides featuring poets such as Billy Collins and Ted Kooser, the journal is packed with excellent poetry. It's available through lulu press. Jim Knowles has an excellent review of this issue on his blog, including the URL for ordering.

When I finished reading the poems, I was blown away. For me, the most outstanding aspect of the selection was the feeling that each poet was speaking directly to his or her audience and in a way that stayed with you long after the cover was closed. I've read and reread these poems and will do so again. This is a 'must have', in my opinion.

Experimenting....

Kim Komando's recommended sites have been safe ones, in my experience. A recent site was wwww.deezer.com. You can find most music and create an online music box. It's not downloadable, but there's a code to share the box of music on a blog. Try it. Minimize the screen and listen while you do something else. I picked some REAL oldies and then moderately old. See if it works for you. Oh, I had to double click on the first song to start it. I didn't set it to autostart.

Thank you, Boxcar!

I just found out this morning that Undertow,the poem that won May's Peer award in Boxcar Poetry Review was nominated The Best of the Web 2007 Anthology (Dzanc Books). I feel good about this poem, but nominations are coming in from everywhere and the competition for acceptance is steep.

To learn more about this competition, go to Dzanc Books Anthology Page

The note arrived this morning with these three nominations:

"Virginitiphobia" - Patrick Ryan Frank
Virginitiphobia at Boxcar

"Undertow" - Pris Campbell
Undertow at Boxcar

"The Death of Head and Leg" - Marco A. Dominguez
The Death of Head and Leg at Boxcar

Best wishes and happy writing!

Neil Aitken, Editor
Boxcar Poetry Review

I earlier posted and thanked the The Dead Mule for nominating one of my poems for The Best of the Web at Sundress Press:

Sundress Press Announcement Page. Thank you again, though, Dead Mule!


Pris

Days I wish I married a puter tech

I've not disappeared. Dealing with a pulled back and, today, an update on my logitech cam made my computer have a four hour nervous breakdown. Lost the mouse, the cam, the scanner, etc. Pulled all my tricks out. Deleting the cam, reinstall from the CD. System restore, etc. After all this, each time I reboot from a step towards goal, something is again missing. It's working for now. Tomorrow, who knows??

Kind of like life, eh?

Going to go drool for a while. Can make no logical sense and my back is crying 'pamper me, mama!':-)

Where's your favorite posting place for creative work?

Just curious. I started out on blogger and have been keeping an off and on blog here for around 2-3 years. I like it, but my webmeter shows a lot more people read than leave comments so I don't know who's been here.

I've had a website since around 2001, though it's gone through a number of mutations. I keep all of my poems on it, but many are hidden away into archive pages that only I can access. The website acts as both a place to show my poems and to file everything in a place not on my computer or my external hard drive. A friend had an electrical fire and his hard copies of everything were destroyed. His computer was damaged but a tech managed to retrieve most of his work. He's published extensively, so can replace those but since he dates back to Bukowski, Creely, Norse (and published/knew) them, many of his publications are no longer available. The only problem with a website is that you REALLY don't know who's reading you and you have no interaction with them.

I started a blog on MySpace when poets started moving there. I like the bulletin system there, a way of getting messages to people you know. I like the more extensive feedback, but it takes too much time so I've backed off from there. I also don't leave poems posted there long. The other thing I like about MySpace is that I've met a lot of good poets and editors. Several publications and a chapbook have come from my contacts there.

Recently a poet editor/pusblisher moved her group blog to Facebook. You can't edit anything you post there. A definite drawback. The print is small. Someone is forever sending you a zombie invitation or a question invitation and that's getting overwelming, too. I started an Art For Fun group there and keep an eye on it and RSS feed my posts from blogger there, so it's low maintenance.

I'm thinking I should go back to writing my poems on bathroom walls. Lots easier:-)

Pris

The question rises again. Does a blog or website constitute a 'publication'?

Some editors are beginning to say yes, it does.

The issue is being discussed currently byStephen Morse and his readers on this MySpace post. It explains why I've been putting up fewer of my poems. I still like to publish You'll see my opinion of the issue on his blog. Stephen Morse is a published poet, editor, and professor. If you're not a member of MySpace, you won't be able to post on his blog, but please do leave your opinions here.

Thanks!

Hey, more neat news!

Moonset, a very fine journal of haiku, haiga and other short forms, held its first annual contest, ending this month. I can write a decent haiku but not great and I love the form. Decided to enter, anyway. To my surprise, I came in third, earning a year's extension of my subscription to the journal. It's print and comes out twice a year. After it's been published, I'll post the haiku. So wheeeee!

Pris

Best of the Web nominations from The Dead Mule. Thanks!

The Dead Mule: An Anthology of Southern Literature has posted its nominations for Best of the Web entries for 2007. This includes fiction and poetry.

Go to Helen Losse's blog, poetry editor at The Dead Mule, to see the nominations and read the poems by clicking HERE.

I'm honored to be in such good company in these nominations, so thanks again!

(This is the main Best of the Net website)